Outer Banks Surfing for Autism Volunteer Spots Open

A few weeks back I posted about an awesome soccer camp by the Red Devils Soccer Club here in Utah.  I like this blog format but the hyperlinks don’t show up too well so I’ll bold them whenever I add one.

From Outer Banks Vacations

Anyway, I read a post by the Outer Banks earlier in the year about surfing camps for autistic kids and in their most recent post, they inform us they are looking for volunteers but also have a great video with clips from their past camps (check out the post and video here ~ via Outer Banks Surfing for Autism Volunteer Spots Open).  I can’t post video to my blog but the screen shot below is of the video mentioned above.

Screen shot of video posted @ Outer Banks Vacations

If you follow this blog, you’ll know that I love the ocean and have posted different things about the ocean from a Pro Surfer with Aspergers (Clay Marzo from Maui), to a video that has a feature on an autistic boy and his love to the ocean (Come Hell or High Water).

I want to give a special “thank you” to those who dream up and make these camps and activities for our kids actually happen.  The soccer camp was great for our family and I am grateful to those who did so much for the camp and those kids who participated.  Likewise, thanks to those who do this surfing activity!

Looking forward to getting back home!

We will be hitting the beach soon as well!  One of our uncles back home took my daughter surfing last year and I’m tempted to see if the boys will do ok on a board.  If anything, we’ll try bodyboarding and take it from there.  I bet that we’d get a better response than last year. 

 

Surfing and Autism – Clay Marzo

In August of 2009, ESPN profiled Clay Marzo – a professional surfer from Maui, Hawaii (personal note – that’s where I grew up as well).  It’s a great story, especially since at the time Clay was growing up, “autism” and “aspergers” were not words that the general population were familiar with yet.  As a parent, I can relate to feelings that his mother and father share, especially his mother’s “relief” when Clay was diagnosed with aspergers since now, she found resources and individuals that would help her understand Clay more.

Surfer Clay Marzo - photo courtesy of http://www.go211.com

Clay was born in California but grew up in Lahaina, HI.  Clay is a professional surfer (click here to see his website) and (according to Wikipedia on 12/24/11) is sponsored by a number of companies including Quicksilver, Rockstar and Skull Candy.

The ESPN video can be seen by clicking here.  Also, there is a more recent story on Clay from ABC news that can be found here.

My twins LOVE the water. I wish I had a better picture of them at the beach but here’s one of them at the waterfall at Turtle Bay, HI

Being from Maui and watching my twins enjoy the ocean made me appreciate this story even more.  I’ve heard a lot about autistic children and their connection to animals, specifically horses.  However, there’s also an increasing amount of stores of autistic children and their love for water.  One of our goals for the year is to find more time in the pool / ocean with the boys since they seemed to have really enjoyed it in 2011.

We spent hours last summer at different pools and water parks around our house.  When we were in Hawaii, the kids LOVED the beach and practically ran into the water.  We started swim lessons this past year and plan on continuing it when the weather gets warmer. . . . maybe their love of swimming and the ocean will allow me to get back to Maui more often.  :)

Enjoy!